Posts Tagged With: power outage

In preparation for National Geographic’s debut of American Blackout this coming Sunday; I wanted to create my own power outage checklist for preppers. The premise of the show from the website is “the story of a national power failure in the United States caused by a cyber-attack — told in real time, over 10 days, by those who kept filming on cameras and phones.” I have high hopes for this show and genuinely hope to learn new things and gain fresh insights from the portrayal of these events. If nothing else, I hope the situations they present inspire and motivate others to be more prepared if we are ever faced with a situation like this.

Even if we aren’t ever the victim of any cyber-attack that takes down the electrical grid, power outages do happen all of the time. Knowing what you need to have to weather an outage and having a plan for living through the power disruption is important. As with anything else preparedness related, you are better off planning and organizing what you need well in advance of any emergency. The old prepping adage is that it is better to be five years early than one day late.

The list below is broken into different chunks of information and follows a good, better, best type of format. Good items are the absolute minimum you need for a given scenario which so happens in this case to be our power outage. Better will keep you above the minimum requirements giving you additional flexibility and capabilities. Best is our recommendation for what you would ideally have to make it through most conceivable scenarios provided outside influences don’t change your situation. Best isn’t perfect, but it does put you on a posture for success. For most items I have added links to Amazon or other shopping outlets so you can order and price these items for yourself. I have also created a free downloadable power blackout checklist that you can print out, stick on your fridge and monitor your progress as you acquire these provisions or carry this with you to the store to make sure nothing is missed from your preps.

We will be using the same assumption that National Geographic is using for American Blackout and that is a 10 day power outage. We will assume that for the duration of this power outage, you are able to shelter in place and aren’t forced to leave your home. Where you live and what time of year this happens will influence some of your choices below but I’ll try to call that out where appropriate. I probably won’t go into some of the situations we as a country could be faced with in the aftermath of something like this, but in terms of basic survival we should have all the bases covered.

There is no more power

A power blackout from a cyber-attack will not be announced. An attack either on systems that deliver power to our homes or from an EMP attack will come without warning. You won’t get news reports for several days in advance like with a hurricane. You won’t have any time to run to the store to buy the items on this checklist before the blackout. You will have to use what you have on hand, or can acquire almost immediately after the blackout has occurred before panic sets in. Once people learn the power isn’t coming back on anytime soon, there will be chaos and you don’t want to be anywhere near that.

What do we need to prepare for living without in a power blackout caused by a cyber-attack?

The ability to run any electronic devises without batteries – This includes ATM’s, credit card machines, cash registers (I’ll deal with this in security), gas pumps…

The ability to cook food with electronic appliances.

The ability to see when its dark

The ability to heat or cool your home or food.

You may lose the ability to get water from the tap.

The ability to get information and news

Waste Removal/trash sewer may be affected.

So, let’s take these one at a time and start at the top and work our way down the list of scenarios and all of the items you should have on hand before a power blackout.

Backup power and tying into your home’s electrical system require skill. If you don’t know what you are doing, call an electrician to avoid costly and potentially fatal mistakes. Solar Panels may require additional equipment.

Cooking

You quickly find out how much we take for granted during a power outage at two points. The first is when you flick that light switch on by habit and nothing happens. The second is when you want to cook something and are faced with the reality that you might have to eat those leftovers cold.

Shelter

In the context of the power blackout, we discussed that you would not be disposed from your home, so this is really talking about protecting yourself from the extremes of heat or cold. Most of the items below could pull double duty as camping equipment.

Good

Appropriate clothing for the temperature. Warm weather calls for clothes that dry quickly and wick moisture away. Cold weather usually means layers and warm additions like hats and gloves.

Best

Security

Security like some of these other topics is more complicated so a list like this is subject to a lot of scrutiny. We do cover this subject in much greater detail in our Self Defense section of our website.

Good

Shotgun with 100 rounds of buckshot ammo

$300 dollars in cash

Dog

Better

Handgun for each adult member of the family – 9mm, .40 or .45

500 rounds of HP ammo for each pistol

2 magazines for each

$500 dollars in cash

Best

Battle Rifle for each adult member of the family (AK or AR platform)

1000 rounds of ammunition for each rifle

20 magazines for each rifle

Your own Navy Seal team

1 month’s salary or expenses in cash

Sanitation

Good

Bathtub full of water stored in container for hygiene or drinking – Water Bob This requires some action before water pressure is cut off.

As I mentioned above, lists like these are going to be subject to scrutiny. Without devoting a few paragraphs to each topic, this list could spawn a lot of questions. Fortunately, the Prepper Journal has articles on just about every one of these subjects so the information is here. If you have any questions, please let me know – The Prepper Journal